Methods and systems for personal interactive voice response

ABSTRACT

A personal interactive voice response system with a web-based interface allowing the user to specify treatment of incoming calls based on voice or touchtone responses provided by the calling party. A graphical user interface available over a computer network, such as the Internet, allows the user to personalize greetings that callers hear, as well as customizing treatment of callers based on the caller&#39;s response. The user may record an initial greeting or other messages, either over the telephone or over the Internet, so that the messages are played to callers in the user&#39;s voice. Additionally, the user may enter text, via a PC or wireless device connected to the Internet, that is played back for the caller, based on the caller&#39;s response, via text-to-speech conversion using voice extensible markup language technology. Resulting actions, such as call forwarding, distinctive ringing, or remote notification of the incoming call may also be included.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to telecommunications and moreparticularly relates to systems and methods for enabling a telephonesubscriber to customize the handling of incoming calls using interactivevoice response (IVR).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Not long ago, telephone services were considered necessary butexpensive such that a household typically had a single telephone line toserve all of the household members. Today, telecommunicationstechnologies have greatly expanded and telephone services have becomeless expensive. Many households now have two or more telephone lines,and many people carry portable telephones, also known as mobile orcellular telephones. Some households may have added a second hometelephone line for a young child, an aging parent, a fax machine, or adial-up Internet connection. Additionally, each member of the householdmay have a separate mobile phone with a mobile phone number unique tothat member.

[0003] However, there is rarely a home telephone line for each member ofthe household, and if a household includes a large number of people, itis not practical to have a home telephone line for each person.Furthermore, there are occasions when mobile phones must be turned offor may not provide quality or affordable service. People may also bewary of providing their mobile phone number to others who are not eitherclose friends or relatives. Accordingly, having a primary telephone linefor all members of a household is still important to most residentialtelephony customers.

[0004] When a telephone rings at a house, a user may answer the callonly to learn that the call is for a child who is not at home. The usermay take a message for the child on a piece of paper and leave themessage for the child to see. Alternatively, the call could be for theuser's spouse, who may be on a business trip, but reachable through amobile phone. In this case, the user may provide the mobile phone numberto the calling party, so the calling party may call the user's spousedirectly. Alternatively, the call could be from someone, e.g., inquiringabout a newspaper advertisement to sell one of the family's cars. Theuser may not wish to answer the call at that time, but instead directthe call to a voice mailbox for later retrieval or to play a specificmessage with further information about the car.

[0005] In an environment in which a telephone number is shared by anumber of people, a caller frequently does not have control over routingits call to a specific member of the shared environment. The calledparty does not have a convenient way to specify incoming call routinginstructions based on which member of the household the caller is tryingto reach. Additionally, the called party has no means by which to routean incoming call to a specific member based on the topic of the call,e.g., a caller inquiring about a newspaper ad selling a used car.Furthermore, the called party has no way to route an incoming call to aspecific recorded message (e.g., driving directions to an upcomingparty) based on input from the caller.

[0006] When more than one person is associated with a telephone line,incoming calls may be for several different people and varying purposes.Even in situations where there is only one person associated with atelephone line, the user cannot generally specify how to handle incomingcalls based on the caller's purpose. Thus, there is a need for a systemand method allowing residential customers to specify the handling ofincoming calls.

[0007] Residential telephony customers typically do not enjoy many ofthe features and services related to management of incoming calls thatare available to business customers. One reason for this is the highcost of the customer premises equipment (CPE) required to provide suchfeatures. Thus, interactive voice response (IVR) systems havehistorically been used only in business environments for the handling ofincoming calls.

[0008] Prior IVR systems are large, expensive, and self-contained.Typically, a stand-alone box containing the IVR system is connected toone or more trunk lines for the business. When an incoming call reachesa trunk line, the caller typically hears a menu of choices, e.g. “pressthe extension of the person you wish to reach; press 1 for a companydirectory; or press 0 for the operator.” These menus are preprogrammedin a customized terminal that is usually adjacent to the stand-alone boxthat houses the IVR system. Additionally, the IVR system requiresprerecorded announcements and plays the same menus to all callers, eventhough there may be hundreds of people served by the trunk linesconnected to the IVR system. Thus, IVR systems utilized by businessesare not desirable for residential customers because of the expense andlack of customization available. Accordingly, there is a need for asystem and method of providing a network-based personal IVR service thatenables residential customers to customize the manner in which incomingcalls are handled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention provides a personal IVR system with aweb-based interface allowing the user to specify treatment of incomingcalls based on voice or touchtone responses provided by the callingparty. A graphical user interface (GUI) available over a computernetwork, such as the Internet, allows the user to personalize greetingsthat callers hear, as well as customizing treatment of callers based onthe caller's response to the played greeting.

[0010] For example, the user may specify an initial greeting that plays“Thank you for calling. If you are calling for Jim, press 1; for Mary,press 2; for the kids, press 3.” Topic-specific prompts may also beincluded in a initial greeting, e.g., “for directions to the party,press 4; for information about the used car advertised for sale, press5.” The directions and information about the car are available to theuser based on the user's selection. The user could choose to record aninitial greeting or other messages, either over the telephone or overthe Internet, so that the messages are played to callers in the user'svoice. Additionally, the user may enter text, via a PC or wirelessdevice connected to the Internet, that is played back for the caller,based on the caller's response, via text-to-speech conversion usingvoice extensible markup language (VoiceXML or VXML) technology.

[0011] Resulting actions, such as call forwarding, distinctive ringing,or remote notification of the incoming call may also be included. Thetelephone network may be either AIN or softswitch/server-basedarchitecture. These and other objects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention may be more clearly understood and appreciated from areview of the following detailed description of the disclosedembodiments and by reference to the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary AIN environment of exemplarymethods and systems of operation of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary softswitch environment ofexemplary methods and systems of operation of the present invention.

[0014]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary environment of exemplary methodsand systems of call processing of the present invention.

[0015]FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary environment of exemplary methodsand systems of implementing a personal IVR service according to thepresent invention.

[0016]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forimplementing an exemplary system of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method of operationof the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method of callprocessing of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The following detailed description utilizes a number of acronymswhich are generally well known in the art. While definitions aretypically provided with the first instance of each acronym, forconvenience, Table 1 below provides a list of the acronyms and theirrespective definitions. TABLE 1 ACRONYM DEFINITION AIN AdvancedIntelligent Network ASR Automated Speech Recognition CPE CustomerPremises Equipment DTMF Dual Tone Multi-Frequency GUI Graphical UserInterface IP Intelligent Peripheral ISDN Integrated Service DigitalNetwork ISP Internet Service Provider IVR Interactive Voice Response IXCInterexchange Carrier LEC Local Exchange Carrier MGCP Media GatewayControl Protocol PC Personal Computer PDA Personal Digital Assistant PINPersonal Identification Number POTS Plain Old Telephone Server PRIPrimary Rate Interface PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network SCNService Circuit Node SCP Service Control Point SIP Session InitiationProtocol SMS Service Management System SPA Service Package ApplicationSS7 Signaling System 7 SSP Service Switching Point STP Signal TransferPoint TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part TCP/IP TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol TTS Text-to-Speech VXML or VoiceXMLVoice Extensible Markup Language WAP Wireless Application Protocol WSPWireless Service Provider XML Extensible Markup Language

[0020] Voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML or VXML), is an XMLformat that utilizes existing telephony technology to interact withusers over the telephone through speech recognition, speech synthesis,and standard web technologies. Lucent®, AT&T®, IBM®, and Motorola®founded the VoiceXML Forum to create a unified standard for voicedialogs. Part of the driving force behind the development of VXML is theuse of IVR systems for call center automation.

[0021] VXML promotes service portability across implementationplatforms. VXML is a common language for content providers, toolproviders, and platform providers and strives to accommodate therequirements of a majority of voice response services. The languagedescribes the human-machine interaction provided by voice responsesystems, which includes: output of synthesized speech (text-to-speech);output of audio files; recognition of spoken input; recognition ofdual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) input; recording of spoken input;control of dialog flow; and telephony features such as call transfer anddisconnect.

[0022] An exemplary VXML system includes a VXML gateway that accessesstatic or dynamic VXML content on the Internet. The gateway includes aVXML browser (interpreter), a Text-to-Speech (TTS) engine, an AutomaticSpeech Recognition (ASR) engine, and the telephony hardware thatconnects to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) via a T1, PlainOld Telephone Server (POTS), or Integrated Service Digital Network(ISDN) telephone connection. A POTS line is the type installed in mosthomes and can only handle a single connection, whereas a T1 contains 24individual channels. VXML gateways contain one or more telephony cardsthat handle things such as digital signal processing, call control, andcall bridging. Most of the vendors of these cards support a wide rangeof connection options including T1, E1, POTS, and ISDN.

[0023] An exemplary voice dialog utilizing VXML typically includesseveral steps. First, a caller dials up the system, and the call isreceived by the telephony hardware and routed to the VXML browser. TheVXML gateway retrieves a VXML document from the specified web server andplays a prerecorded or synthesized prompt. Next, the caller speaks intothe telephone or presses a key (DTMF input) to indicate a selectionbased on the played prompt. The telephony equipment sends the recordedsound to the ASR engine (if it's speech), which uses a predefinedgrammar contained in the VXML document. The VXML browser then executesthe commands in the document based upon the ASR results (a match againstthe grammar or not) and plays another prerecorded or synthesized promptand waits for the caller's response.

[0024] Automated speech recognition uses recorded audio from a telephonycard and advanced algorithms to match the recorded audio againstdictionary and grammars. A grammar defines sets of words and phrasesthat it expects the callers to speak. TTS engines use a number ofalgorithms that utilize prerecorded speech to form the sounds for words.As a starting point, the basic phonemes of the language to be spoken arerecorded and filed away. These phonemes are then combined to form wordsusing a lexicon that tells the TTS engine what phonemes make up aparticular word. The words are combined to form sentences and so onuntil the TTS engine has built the entire phrase, which is usuallyreturned as a “wav” file. As is known in the art, a “wav” file is aMicrosoft® Windows® proprietary format for encoding sound and isdesignated by the “.wav” extension.

[0025] A document server, e.g., a web server, processes requests from aclient application, the VXML Interpreter, through the VXML interpretercontext. The server produces VXML documents in reply, which areprocessed by the VXML Interpreter. The VXML interpreter context maymonitor caller inputs in parallel with the VXML interpreter. Forexample, one VXML interpreter context may always listen for a specialescape phrase that takes the caller to a high-level personal assistant,and another may listen for escape phrases that alter caller preferenceslike volume or text-to-speech characteristics.

[0026] The implementation platform is controlled by the VXML interpretercontext and by the VXML interpreter. For instance, in an IVRapplication, the VXML interpreter context may be responsible fordetecting an incoming call, acquiring the initial VXML document andanswering the call, while the VXML interpreter conducts the dialog afteranswer. The implementation platform generates events in response tocaller actions (e.g., spoken or character input received, disconnect)and system events (e.g., timer expiration). Some of these events areacted upon by the VXML interpreter itself, as specified by the VXMLdocument, while others are acted upon by the VXML interpreter context.

[0027] Further information, including hardware/software platformrequirements, may be found in Voice XML Version 2.0 by VoiceXML Forum,said document being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0028]FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary environment for operation ofexemplary methods and systems of the present invention. Connected to apublic switched telephone network (PSTN) 102, an exemplary environmentis an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) 104. For brevity, only a basicexplanation of AIN 104 is provided. Where AIN 104 operates or iscomposed differently in an important aspect from that which would beunderstood by those skilled in the art, additional details are providedherein. For further information regarding the referenced AIN 104 andaspects thereof, the interested reader is referred to the commonlyassigned patent to Weisser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,719, which isincorporated herein by reference.

[0029] AIN 104 includes a variety of interconnected network elements. Agroup of such network elements includes the plurality of central officeswhich are indicated as service switching points (SSPs) 106 and 108 inFIG. 1. An SSP typically includes switch functionality, but alsoincludes other functionality so as to communicate with other AINelements as those skilled in the art understand. As further illustratedin FIG. 1, SSPs 106 and 108 have a plurality of subscriber lines, orcalling lines, connected thereto. Each SSP serves a designated group ofcalling lines, and thus, the SSP that serves a particular calling linemay be referred to as its serving SSP. For example, SSP 106 servescalling lines 110 and 112, while SSP 108 serves calling lines 114 and116. Each calling line is connected typically to a piece of terminatingequipment including a plurality of telephones individually referenced as118, 120, 122, and 124. Although telephones are illustrated as thepieces of terminating equipment in FIG. 1, those skilled in the art willunderstand that such pieces include other telecommunications devicessuch as facsimile machines, computers, modems, etc.

[0030] Pursuant to a preferred embodiment, each active calling line inan AIN is assigned a t$) multi-digit calling directory number. In theU.S., the directory number typically consists of ten digits. In thedescription of the present invention, the term “directory number” isused in its generally understood meaning to be the number which isdialed or input by a caller or source and used by the network to routethe communication so as to reach a piece of terminating equipment on acalling line associated with the dialed directory number. A directorynumber is commonly referred to as a telephone number or calling linenumber.

[0031] SSPs 106 and 108 are interconnected by a plurality of trunkcircuits 126. These are the voice path trunks that interconnect the SSPsto connect communications. The term “communication” or “call” is usedherein to include all messages that may be exchanged between a caller(or calling party or originating party or subscriber) and a called partyor destination.

[0032] Each of SSPs 106 and 108 is connected to another type of AINelement referred to as a local signal transfer point (STP) 128 viarespective data links using the Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol, whichis well known in the art. Much of the intelligence of the AIN resides inyet another type of AIN element referred to as a local service controlpoint (SCP) 130 that is connected to STP 128 over an SS7 data link.Among the functions performed by SCP 130 are the maintenance of networkdatabases and subscriber databases as represented collectively bydatabases 132. Databases 132 may be used in providing telecommunicationservices to a subscriber. Typically, SCP 130 includes service packageapplications (SPAs) that are used in connection with or as part ofdatabases 132 in the application of telecommunication services orenhanced features to calling lines.

[0033] The local STP 128 may be connected to other network elements ofAIN 104 through a regional STP 134, which in turn may be connected to aregional SCP 136. Both regional SCP 136 and local SCP 130 are connectedvia respective data links to a service management system (SMS) 138. SMS138 interfaces to business offices of the local exchange carrier (LEC)and interexchange carriers (IXCs).

[0034] In order to keep the processing of data and calls as simple aspossible, a relatively small set of triggers is defined at the SSPs foreach call. There are three types of triggers: originating, terminating,and dialing plan. With regard to the present invention, a trigger in theAIN is an event associated with a particular calling line (i.e.,terminating) that generates a message to be sent to an SCP. The triggercauses the SCP to query its service package applications and databasesfor processing instructions with respect to the particular call. Theresults are sent back to the SSP in a response from SCP 130 through STP128. The return message includes instructions to the SSP as to how toprocess the call. The instructions may be to tell the SSP to take somespecial action as a result of a customized calling service or enhancedfeature, such as a personal dialing plan. In response, the SSP movesthrough its remaining call states, collects the dialed digits, and maygenerate further messages that are used to set up and route the call.Similar devices for routing calls among various local exchange carriersare provided by regional STP 134 and regional SCP 136.

[0035] SMS 138 also is connected via a data link 140 to one or moreintelligent peripherals such as the illustrated intelligent peripheral(IP) 142. In an exemplary environment, IP 142 may be a service circuitnode (SCN). By this data link 140, SMS 138 provides IP 142 withinformation relating to new subscribers and updates for existingsubscribers, and with information relating to network operations such asnew services, upgrades to existing services, measurements, audits, andmaintenance. The IP 142 that receives information from SMS 138 may beone of many kinds of elements used in telecommunication services. IP 142includes voice and DTMF signal recognition devices and voice synthesisdevices.

[0036] In addition, IP 142 is connected to one or more (but usually onlya few) SSPs via ISDN links 144 as shown by the connection to SSP 108.Optionally, IP 142 may be connected to one or more SCPs via a TCP/IPconnection, such as TCP/IP connection 146 i which connects IP 142 to SCP130.

[0037] In another exemplary environment, a softswitch may be usedinstead of an SSP. A softswitch is a software-based entity that providescall control functionality. As shown in FIG. 2, elements in a softswitcharchitecture network 200 include a softswitch/call agent/media gatewaycontroller 202, a media gateway 204, a signaling gateway 206, a featureserver 208, an application server 210, and a media server 212. Asoftswitch may interoperate with the PSTN 102 through media gateway 204and signaling gateway 206 via signaling to PSTN switches and AINplatforms. Signaling gateway 206 and media gateway 204 are deployed atthe boundary between the PSTN and the softswitch. All other componentsmay be located anywhere within the network that makes sense with regardto access and operational considerations. The softswitch network mayaccess network elements in the PSTN for routing, billing, emergencyservices, and other services as needed.

[0038] Feature server 208 is related to the features of call agent 202.Feature server 208 may be built into call agent 202 without distinctionbetween the functions, to provide call-associated capabilities such ascall waiting, three-way calling, speed dial, and other features that areapplied to a call. Application server 210 provides services that mayresult in the termination of a call (e.g., voice mail, conferencebridge, etc.) or delivering services and information to an end user.Application server 210 can be coupled to data networks, such as theInternet, to gain access to information systems to provide services tothe user.

[0039] Call agent 202 interfaces with media server 212 using protocolssuch as MGCP (media gateway control protocol), H.248, or SIP (sessioninitiation protocol), which are well known to those skilled in the art,to direct media server 212 to provide necessary media interactions aspart of delivering services. Call agent 202 delivers calls toapplication server 210 using SIP or H.323 protocols, which are wellknown to those skilled in the art. Application server 210 takes over thecall and may drive media server 212 as needed to provide necessary mediainteractions as part of delivering services.

[0040] Media gateway 204 is an endpoint or collection of endpoints. Theprimary role of media gateway 204 is to transform media from onetransmission format to another, most often from circuit to packetformats or from analog/ISDN circuit to packet as in a residentialgateway. Media gateway 204 is always controlled by a media gatewaycontroller, such as call agent 202. Media server 212 operates as a slaveto call agent 202 to perform media processing on media streams. Mediaserver 212 provides support for multiple codecs and transcoding, supportfor control by multiple media gateway controller functions, and supportfor multiple concurrent building blocks.

[0041] Systems and methods according to the present invention include anetwork-based personal IVR service that is configurable by thesubscriber or user in real time. The user specifies what the callerhears, e.g., “press 1 for Sue, press 2 for Jim.” The user also specifiesthe call handling rules that apply to each incoming call. Additionally,other screening and call notification features may be used, as well asdistinctive ringing. Initial greetings, options, and call handling rulesmay be entered via a computer network, such as the Internet. Examples ofsuch rules are to forward calls to a forwarding number, to play aninitial greeting, etc. The rules or instructions can be quickly changedvia the Internet and can be customized for each directory number that issubscribed to personal IVR service. To include specific information tobe provided to callers as part of the personal IVR service, there aretwo options: (1) type in the information and it is played to the callerusing a TTS engine, or (2) store a prerecorded announcement.

[0042]FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary environment for operation of exemplarymethods and systems of the present invention. A caller 302 or 322desires to call a user 304 who is subscribed to personal IVR service.The call is routed to the directory number for user 304 using a voicetransport network 306, which triggers a central office or switch 308serving user 304. Central office 308 queries an SCP 310 serving user 304for processing instructions with respect to the call. SCP 310 determinesthat user 304 is subscribed to personal IVR service. SCP 310 accesses anapplication server 314 and a customer profiles database 316, whichincludes call handling rules and text previously entered by user 304through a web-based interface or other means, via a secure intranet 318.

[0043] The text or prerecorded announcement that is to be played forcaller 302 is sent back to SCP 310 along with instructions to route thecall to a VXML gateway 312. With the assistance of a voice server 320accessed via secure intranet 318, VXML gateway 312 plays a prerecordedor synthesized prompt to caller 302 using the services of voicetransport network 306. VXML gateway 312 and voice server 320 mayseparate, as shown in FIG. 3, or combined. For example, the synthesizedprompt may be “press or say 1 for John; press or say 2 for Mary; orpress or say 3 for the kids.” VXML gateway 312 then waits for an audibleor DTMF response from caller 302.

[0044] Caller 302 or 322 speaks into the telephone or presses a key toindicate a selection based on the played prompt. VXML gateway 312collects the response and returns the response to central office 308.Central office 308 returns the response to SCP 310 and queries SCP 310for instructions. SCP 310 accesses database 316 to determine the nextstep based on the response from the caller. For example, informationstored in database 316 may provide that when a caller presses or says“2” between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Monday throughFriday, the call is to be forwarded to a mobile phone (in this example,Mary's mobile phone). Accordingly, if caller 302 or 322 presses “2,” SCP310 instructs central office 308 to route the call to Mary's mobilephone.

[0045] As another example, information stored in database 316 mayprovide that when a caller presses or says “2” for Mary, anotherprerecorded or synthesized prompt should be played and that VXML gateway312 should wait for another response from caller 302 or 322. Forexample, the prompt may be “press or say 1 if you would like to beforwarded to Mary's mobile phone; press or say 2 if you would like to beforwarded to Mary's work phone; or press or say 3 if you would like toleave a message for Mary.” Caller 302 or 322 makes a selection and iseither forwarded to Mary's mobile or work phone number or directed toMary's voice mail based on the caller's selection.

[0046]FIG. 4 shows an exemplary operating environment for an embodimentof the present invention. To control customer settings, call handlingrules, and preferences related to IVR service, a user employs either awireline or a wireless device to connect to the Internet 402. Examplesof a wireline device include a personal computer (PC) 404 or a Pocket PC406. In general, a user of a wireline device connects to the Internet402 via a central office (SSP or softswitch) 308 and employs servicesprovided by an Internet service provider (“ISP”) 410. Examples ofwireless devices that a customer can use to interface with the Internet402 include Pocket PC 406, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) 412, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device 414, or an interactive pager416. A user of PDA 412 connects to the Internet 402 via a web accessgateway 418 and employs services provided by a wireless service provider(WSP) 420. A user of WAP device 414 connects to the Internet 402 via aWAP gateway 422 and employs services provided by WSP 420. A user ofinteractive pager row 416 or Pocket PC 406 also employs services of WSP420.

[0047] The user connects to the Internet 402 and enters informationregarding customer control settings for IVR service. The informationentered by the user is transmitted to a secure intranet 318 of the IVRservice provider and stored in a customer profiles database 316. Afirewall 428 protects intranet 318 as information is transmitted betweenintranet 318 and the Internet 402.

[0048] The present invention provides a convenient web-based means toadminister a personal IVR service. For example, the user may createrules to route calls based on any of the following: to a pre-definednumber, to a current reach number (e.g., Mary's current reach numberbased on her calendar), to a current person's reach number (e.g.,containing the current reach number for both “Mary at work” and “Mary athome”), to wherever the called party is based on presence information(e.g., route to Mary's mobile phone if the mobile phone is on), or to aprerecorded or synthesized announcement. Additionally, different actionsmay be taken at different times. For example, the user may request thatcalls be forwarded to forwarding number A from noon to 3 p.m. andforwarded to forwarding number B from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The user cancreate, edit, or delete greetings, options, or rules via the web-basedinterface. The user may also want call handling based on specificsituations or topics, for example “press 4 if you are calling about thecar, press 5 if you are calling for directions to the party onSaturday.” Based on what the caller enters, there are rules directingwhere the call is routed and/or what announcement is played for thecaller.

[0049]FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart for a method according to anembodiment of the present invention. The user accesses the user'spersonal IVR service by connecting to a server via a web-basedinterface, block 502. The server receives the user's request and mayexecute some authentication process, such as asking for a personalidentification number (PIN) before allowing the user access to apersonal IVR service.

[0050] After verifying that the user is a subscriber to the personal IVRservice, the user's access is granted. The server provides a menu ofcommands to the user, block 504, from which the user chooses to enter aselection. For example, the user may choose to edit an initial greeting,edit an option, or edit a call handling rule associated with an initialgreeting or option. Edit should be understood to include creating,deleting, or otherwise changing an initial greeting, option, or callhandling rule. If the user wants to edit an initial greeting, block 506,the user is prompted to enter the initial greeting, block 508. Dependingon the device utilized by the user to access the personal IVR service,the user may type in the text of a greeting or may record a greeting byspeaking the greeting. After the user enters the greeting, the user mayperform another command, block 510. If the user does not want to enteradditional commands, the user disconnects from the server, block 512.

[0051] The user may choose to edit an option, block 514. The user maychoose to edit an option rather than editing the initial greeting whendoing so is desirable. For example, if the initial greeting includes anoption stating “if you are interested in the car for sale, press 4” andthe car has been sold, the user may want to delete this option. The usercan delete this option either by choosing to edit an initial greeting orchoosing to edit an option. Choosing to edit an option may beadvantageous if the user is only interested in editing a single optionand not multiple portions of the initial greeting. The user selects theoption to be edited, block 516, and the option is retrieved andpresented to the user for confirmation. The user edits the option, block518. In an embodiment, if the user deletes an option, then all callhandling rules associated with the deleted option are also deleted. Oncethe user has edited the option, the user is prompted whether the userwants to edit another option, block 520, or enter additional commands,block 510.

[0052] Once the user edits the option, the user is prompted whether theuser wants to edit a call handling rule associated with the selectedoption, block 520. If the user does not want to edit a call handlingrule, the user is prompted to enter additional commands, block 510, andis disconnected from the server, block 512, if the user does not wish toenter any additional commands.

[0053] If the user desires to edit a call handling rule, block 522, theuser is prompted to select a rule to be edited, block 524. The userenters the rule to be edited, block 526. One example of a rule is toforward a call to a directory number. Even more specific is a rule thatprovides for forwarding a call to directory number A from 8:00 a.m. tonoon, forwarding a call to directory number B from noon to 6:00 p.m.,ringing the dialed directory number from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. andfrom 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., and forwarding a call to voice mail from10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Another example of a rule is to play a specificannouncement. Accordingly, as part of editing a call handling rule, theuser would enter the text to be played.

[0054] For example, the user may desire the text to be played to bedirections to the user's house for an upcoming party.

[0055] Once the user has entered the rule, the user enters an optionwith which the rule is to be associated, block 528. For example, if theuser has set up an option to play text consisting of directions to theuser's house for an upcoming party, then the user associates the rulecontaining the text to be played with that option. As another example,if an option is “press or say 2 for Mary,” then the user associates therule with Mary's forwarding numbers, etc. with that option. Once theuser has edited a rule, the user is prompted whether the user wants toedit another rule, block 530, or enter additional commands, block 510.

[0056] If the user enters a command that is not recognized by theserver, an error message is displayed and the user is prompted to enteranother command. Likewise, an error message may be displayed if the userenters a rule that is inconsistent (e.g., forward call to forwardingnumber A from noon to midnight and forward call to forwarding number Bfrom midnight to 2:00 p.m.) or otherwise enters inconsistent data.

[0057]FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart for a method according to anembodiment of the present invention. A server or other platform where anIVR service is implemented receives an access request from a user, block602, and the server may invoke an authentication process before allowingthe user to create or modify the user's personal IVR service. After theuser provides a proper PIN or other identification information, theserver sends a menu of commands to the user for the user's personal IVRservice, block 604, and asks the user to enter a command.

[0058] The server receives a command from the user, block 606, anddetermines the command received from the user. If the user wants to editan initial greeting, block 608, the server prompts the user to enter theinitial greeting. Edit should be understood to include creating,deleting, or otherwise changing an initial greeting, option, or callhandling rule. The server receives an initial greeting, block 610, andstores the greeting, block 612. After the initial greeting is stored,the server checks whether the user wants to enter another command, block614.

[0059] If the user's command is to edit an option, block 616, the serverprompts the user to enter the option to be edited and the serverreceives the option selection, block 618, and the option, block 620. Theserver stores the option selection and option, block 622, and querieswhether the user wishes to edit another option, block 624, or enteranother command, block 614.

[0060] If the user's command is to edit a call handling rule, block 626,the server prompts the user to enter the call handling rule to beedited. The server receives the rule selection, block 628, and the rule,block 630. The server also receives the option with which the editedrule is to be associated, block 632, and stores the rule, block 634,including which option is associated with the rule. The server querieswhether the user wants to edit another call handling rule, block 636, orenter another command, block 614. If the server receives a command thatit does not recognize, the server displays an error message and promptsthe user to enter another command.

[0061]FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention. The switch serving the called party or user receives anincoming call, block 702, and determines whether the user is subscribedto personal IVR service. The call is routed to the VXML gateway/voiceserver where the user's personal IVR service is stored. The serverretrieves the personal IVR greetings, options, and rules, block 704, andplays an initial greeting to the caller, block 706. If the server doesnot expect any input from the caller, block 708, the call is provisionedaccording to the call handling rules of the personal IVR service, block710. For example, the initial greeting may indicate that the calledparty is away from the phone and the call will be forwarded directly tovoice mail. In this case, the server does not expect a selection of anyoptions or other input from the user after the initial greeting isplayed, and thus the server routes the call directly to voice mailaccording to a call handling rule of the personal IVR service.

[0062] If the server expects input from the caller, block 708, theserver waits for entry of a command by the caller, block 712. If thecaller does not enter a command, the server plays an error message,block 716. If the caller enters a command, the server determines whetherthe command is one specified by the personal IVR service, block 714. Forexample, the initial greeting may state “Press 1 for Mary; or press 2for Jim.” If the caller presses 3, the server does not recognize this asa proper command based on the personal IVR service. If the commandentered by the caller is not recognized by the server, an error messageis played to the caller, block 716. If the command entered by the calleris proper, the call is provisioned according to the personal IVRservice, block 710. For example, if the caller enters “1” for Mary and acall handling rule associated with option “1” is to route the call toMary's mobile phone number, the call is routed to Mary's mobile phonewhen the caller presses “1.”

[0063] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of theinvention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration anddescription and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teaching.

[0064] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain theprinciples of the invention and their practical application so as toenable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art to which the present inventionpertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims ratherthan the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments describedtherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for routing an incoming call to aspecified person of a plurality of persons at a called telephone number,wherein the called telephone number is serviced by a telecommunicationsnetwork, the method comprising: providing within the telecommunicationsnetwork a personal interactive voice response (IVR) service comprising acomputer network, a web server, an application server, and a database;providing web access to the database; entering information via webaccess for storage in the database, the information relating to thespecified person for directing the incoming call and selected from thegroup consisting of one or more forwarding telephone numbers, timeperiods during which the incoming call is to be directed, initialgreetings, outgoing messages from the specified person, and voice mailboxes; upon receipt of an incoming call, determining that the calledtelephone number is served by the personal IVR service; triggering aninitial greeting, wherein the initial greeting includes instructions forselecting at least one option determined according to the information;and routing the incoming call to a selected option.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein entering information via web access for storage in thedatabase further comprises: querying whether the user wants to enter aninitial greeting, and, if so, prompting the user to enter the initialgreeting; querying whether the user wants to edit an option, and if so,prompting the user to select the option to be edited and to enter arevised option; and querying whether the user wants to edit a callhandling rule, and, if so, prompting the user to select the callhandling rule to be edited, to enter a revised call handling rule, andto associate the revised call handling rule with an existing option. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising storing the initial greeting,the revised option, and the revised call handling rule.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising querying whether the user wants to enter anadditional command.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprisingquerying whether the user wants to edit another option or edit anothercall handling rule.
 6. In a telecommunications network, a system forprocessing a call from a calling party to a user according to a personalinteractive voice response (WVR) service plan of the user, comprising: afirst network element being operative to receive the call and determinewhether the user is subscribed to personal IVR service; a second networkelement being operative to retrieve the personal IVR service plan and toplay an initial greeting to the calling party; and the second networkelement being further operative to receive input from the calling partyand to route the call according to the input from the caller and atleast one call handling rule of the personal IVR service plan.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the first network element is a softswitch. 8.The system of claim 6, wherein the first network element is a serviceswitching point.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the second networkelement is a server.
 10. In a telecommunications network, a system forprocessing a call from a calling party to a user according to a personalinteractive voice response (IVR) service plan of the user, comprising: afirst network element being operative to receive the call and determinewhether the user is subscribed to personal IVR service; a second networkelement being operative to retrieve the personal IVR service plan and toplay an initial greeting to the calling party, wherein the initialgreeting includes at least one option; the second network element beingfurther operative to receive an option selection from the calling partyand, based on the option selection, to apply at least one call handlingrule to the call; and the first network element being further operativeto route the call according to instructions from the second networkelement.
 11. The system of claim 10, further comprising the secondnetwork element being operative to play an error message to the callingparty if the option selection is not recognized according to thepersonal IVR service plan.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the firstnetwork element is a softswitch and the second network element is aserver.
 13. In a telecommunications network including a system forproviding personal interactive voice response (IVR) service tosubscribers comprising a computer network, a web server, an applicationserver and a database, a method comprising: providing at least oneweb-accessible application for entry by a user of information for apersonal IVR service plan; storing the entered information for thepersonal IVR service plan; and upon being queried by a network element,notifying the network element that the user is subscribed to personalIVR service and retrieving the personal IVR service plan.
 14. The methodof claim 13, wherein storing entered information for the personal IVRservice plan further comprises receiving an initial greeting, at leastone option, and at least one call handling rule from the user.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising associating a call handling rulewith an option.
 16. The method of claim 13, further comprising receivingan incoming call and playing an initial greeting with at least oneoption.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving aselection of an option and applying a call handling rule to the call.18. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the networkelement with instructions for routing the call.